According to a story in Reuters, the number HPV-induced head and neck cancers spread by oral sex is rising sharply, particularly in what is supposed to be the enlightened West. And it is particularly prominent among the young and employed.

The cancer is called oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), and it is as ugly as it sounds.

President Bill Clinton, in his sordid affair with Monica Lewinsky, convinced an entire generation that oral sex wasn't really sex. Now the bill has come due, as the human papillomavirus (HPV) is wreaking havoc on the sexual health of a staggering total of 640,000 new human beings every year.

HPV is the leading cause of cervical cancer, which is the second most common cancer among women and in turn is the leading cause of infertility in the fairer sex. Through sexual license, we are slowly destroying our ability to reproduce and killing off our young.

More than 500,000 cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed every year, according to the British Medical Journal, and it kills around 200,000 people a year. Head and neck cancer is now the sixth most common cancer among and women, and the culprit appears to be HPV, which is transmitted primarily through orogential intercourse.

The rate at which HPV is detected in biopsies to diagnose oropharyngeal carcinoma is up 70% in Sweden since the sexual revolution of the 60s and early 70s, and HPV-related cancer is now being reported in 60-80 percent of recent biopsy samples in the U.S., up from 40 percent just a decade ago.

What makes this epidemic even worse is that HPV is transmitted by skin-to-skin contact, not through the exchange of bodily fluids, so there is virtually no way to protect against it. That is, other than being sexually abstinent before marriage and faithful after.

This recent study concludes that increased risk of cancers of the head and neck is linked to a history of six or more lifetime sexual partners, four or more lifetime oral sex partners, and earlier ages of first sexual intercourse.

Of course, the Reuters article makes no mention of sexually responsible behavior as a possible solution. Nope, they're pushing drugs, saying we need to give younger and younger kids of both sexes inoculations of Gardasil before they become sexually active so they can be as randy and promiscuous as they want. This despite a paucity of information about possible side effects and long-term risks of the drug.

Once again the age-old wisdom of the Judeo-Christian tradition is vindicated: sex is for marriage, period.

Bryan Fischer

Bryan Fischer is the host of the daily 'Focal Point' radio talk program on AFR Talk, a division of the American Family Association. 'Focal Point' airs live from 1-3 pm Central Time, and is also simulcast on the AFA Channel, which can be seen on the Sky Angel network.